Plainview high school students call for end to gun violence at walkout on Wednesday morning

Amy Brickel, 18, wiped away tears as she hugged her friends and held a sign reading, “How Many More?”

She stood with about 1,000 students at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School after they walked out of class Wednesday morning in a school-sanctioned event to call for an end to gun violence as they remembered the 21 victims killed last week in Uvalde, Texas.

“I’m sad we even have to be here doing this to get our voices heard,” Brickel said. “I’m just sad innocent people had to die because people did this.”

Bickel said she did a school project on school shootings and took a trip with her temple to speak to Congress about gun control.

“I want to work with young children and seeing these children shot just melts my heart,” she said.

The Plainview school placed 21 empty chairs in front of its building, each adorned with a rose and the name of the 19 fourth grade students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School.

The school’s Advocacy Group co-president Jessica Knaster, 18, read off a list of school mass shootings Wednesday morning, including Columbine High School in Colorado, Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida.

“We say never again. We say something must be done. We see that things need to change, and, yet, they haven't,” Knaster said. “This cannot be our normal. It cannot be a part of the American school experience, practicing sitting huddled in a corner in case a shooter were to enter the building. Our teachers should not be wondering, 'what would I do if this happens in my school? How would I protect my students?' It is possible to live in a world where we do not have to fear we will walk out of the school doors each time we walk in.” 

Students read the names of each Uvalde victim, giving facts about their lives and dreams, and encouraged their schoolmates to remember each person killed last week.

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District has security officers, cameras and identifications that students are asked to wear while on campus, Superintendent Mary O’Meara said.

She said the school district was doing everything it could to protect students, including recognizing signs of threats, counseling students and identifying students who may be in need of help.

But more needs to come from lawmakers, she said, to address mental health and treatment for students who need it. She praised Albany lawmakers for tougher gun laws, including raising the age to 21 from 18 to purchase a semiautomatic rifle.

“We hope that everybody understands that we're not willing to accept more responsibility for protecting the lives of our teachers and our students,” O’Meara said. “That right now, this work lies squarely on our elected officials. It is an issue about guns and mental health.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of students who participated in the walkout. The school's principal estimates about 1,000 students participated.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.